Theo's Mistake
by Shire hobbit
Summary: Theo's throwing a party at home. A party his parents don't know about. But they're bound to find out sooner or later.
1. The Bad Choice

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Cosby Show' or any of the characters

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Cosby Show' or any of the characters!

I hope you enjoy the story!!

~~~~~

"I don't know guys," 16-year-old Theo said to three of his friends. "You all know how my dad is. He won't let us throw the party at my house."

"Yeah, but Theo. Your house is the best place for a party. Especially this one," said one of his friends - Jake.

"You've got to ask him," agreed Dan.

"And if he says no, you'll quit buggin' me?" Theo asked.

"Yes," said Michael. "We won't say another word."

"Well ... okay," Theo agreed.

~~~~~

"Dad?" asked Theo, glad he could talk to his dad alone. Cliff was seated on the couch, and Theo sat down next to him.

"Yeah?" Cliff asked.

"You know ... school just got out, and --"

"You want a summer raise on your allowance, don't you?" Cliff asked, knowingly.

"No dad. Lots of people like to celebrate by throwing a party --"

"Is that where you've been lately?" Cliff interrupted.

Theo chuckled impatiently, "No dad." Then he brightened up, and said confidently, "Me and the guys wanna' have a party of our own this year. And we wanted to have it here!"

"And...?" Cliff asked.

"And ... and we're trying to compete with the other 'party throwers' to see who can throw the _party of the year_. There'll be girls ... guys ... dancing ... food ... oh, and did I mention girls?"

"Yes, girls. I believe you did mention that." Cliff said.

"Oh. Well, can I have the party here?" Theo asked.

"Well ... no!"

"But dad ... _party of the year_! Why not?"

"Well," Cliff started. "It's like this. Me and your mother have kinda' grown a liking to the stuff around here. Stuff like furniture ... breakables. And also, we're the parents. What we say ... goes."

"Yeah dad, I know. But --"

"Cliff," Claire said, as she walked into the room. "Where are we going after the movie tomorrow night?"

"Oh, I thought we'd go to ... Dave's Diner? Why?"

"Well, your mother called earlier and wanted to know where we were all going."

"Oh."

"I should probably call her back now." Claire said, then left and went back into the kitchen.

"Okay," Cliff called after her. "Now. No party. And if you do have one ... not here!"

"Dad, this is the best party place. Everybody says so."

"Oh good. People like it here. No party." Cliff said. He got up, and went upstairs.

Theo stayed in his spot on the couch. _Now what?_ he thought. He decided to call his friends. He picked up the phone, and heard his mom talking. He placed the receiver back down, _guess I'll have to wait a minute._

While he waited, he thought. His friends had seemed so intent on having the party at his house. _So, how do I tell 'em?_

He changed his mind, and decided to tell them when they played ball tomorrow. Making his decision final, he glumly went up to his bedroom.

~~~~~

"So Theo?" asked Dan. "What happened last night?"

"Yeah," said Michael. "Are we on for the party."

__

They look so hopeful, Theo thought. _And so confident that I'm going to say '**party time**'. But I can't! Wait. Wait. Wait. Why not?_

Theo smiled, "Party time!"

Dan, Michael, and Jake suddenly burst out in excitement.

"That's great," came from Michael.

"I told you," came from Dan, at the same time.

While "Excellent!" came from Jake.

"And ..." Theo started. Then he said matter-of-factly, "My parents won't even be there ..."

TO BE CONTINUED ...


	2. The Party

Music was blaring from the speakers, food was set out in the kitchen for anybody, but at the moment everyone was dancing

Music was blaring from the speakers, food was set out in the kitchen for anybody, but at the moment everyone was dancing. They were in the living room; they had moved all the furniture out of the way.

"Hey, Theo, great party!!" said a girl from one of Theo's classes.

"Yo Theo," said Jake. "This might just be claimed 'party of the year'. I mean, there are people here we don't even know."

"Yeah," said Theo. "I wonder how they found out?"

"You know the way things happen," Dan said. "You tell somebody to pass the word, they tell their friends. Then their friends pass the word, and it just keeps going."

"Wow!" said Theo. "It's a good thing we've only been planning the party since this morning. Or else probably the whole state of New York would be here."

Dan, Jake, and Michael all laughed. Then got back into the party; dancing.

About an hour later... The party got more intense by the minute. People kept showing up, and showing up ... They turned up the music, and turned up the speed so they could have a contest for who could dance the fastest - to an already fast tune. They were all having fun messing around, when Vanessa opened the door, and walked in with Rudy.

Theo was surprised by the fact that neither of **them** looked surprised. He could see their lips moving, but the music was so loud he couldn't tell what they were saying. He decided to go over and find out.

"What are you guys doing here?" he asked them. "You're supposed to be down the street at Jen and Christine's sleepover." (Jen and Christine were two sisters; Jen was Vanessa's age, and Christine was Rudy's).

Vanessa shook her head, "Their parents called it off. Nobody could hear anything over the music."

"What music?" Theo asked.

Vanessa looked amazed and rolled her eyes, pointing around the room.

"Oh," Theo muttered. "It's not **that** loud?"

"Yes it is," Rudy told him. "You can hear it down the block, and farther."

Theo remained silent. "Okay, we'll turn the music down. But will you guys promise not to tell mom and dad about this party?"

"You mean they don't know!" Vanessa exclaimed. Then she turned to Rudy, "I'm surprised they can't hear it where they're at." Rudy nodded.

"If you promise, you can stay," Theo offered.

Vanessa shrugged. "I don't want to stay. That'd just get **us** in trouble, too. But I won't tell, 'cause then you'll owe me a favor."

Theo just stared at her, "Fine. Go upstairs then."

They both went upstairs, while Theo turned down the music - but not much.

After another half hour, Theo decided it was time to start getting all these people out. He unexpectedly turned off the music. He then walked over to the kitchen, and told everyone in there to come in here. When everyone was in the living room, he climbed half-way up the stairs, so he could make sure everyone heard him. Then he said, "Okay everybody. I'm sorry for this rush, but you all need to go home. The party's over. It was fun, maybe we can all have another party sometime --"

Everybody cheered. "But for now. Please ..." he gestured toward the door. "And quickly, I need to get this place cleaned up."

After a few protests, everybody quickly filed out.

Theo remembered that every summer, the 'party of the year' got mentioned in the paper. With a little detail of what went on. But he wasn't worried. This party was too short to be 'party of the year'. And if it WAS good enough, it was only a small article on the backside. His dad wouldn't notice it.

__

Okay, Theo thought. _Mom and dad said they would be gone for two hours. 1 1/2 for the movie, and 1/2 to eat. The party's been going for 1 1/2 hours. So I have a whole half hour. That shouldn't be too hard._ He looked around the room. _Then again..._

~~~~~

The next morning, Theo was worried Vanessa and Rudy might spill it. But they didn't say a word. It was still early, and Theo went out to get the town paper. He was bringing it in to his dad, when he noticed the headline:

****

Huxtable Party, 'Party Of The Year'


	3. Discovered

"Theo, where's the paper

"Theo, where's the paper?" Cliff asked; he was seated at the kitchen table. Theo handed him a paper, and sat down.

Cliff looked at it strangely. "No, I meant today's paper. Not yesterday's."

Suddenly, Vanessa rushed into the room, paper in hand. "Look, Theo. Your party got made the headline!!"

Theo let out a sigh, Vanessa had just blown it.

"Let me see that," Cliff said to her. Then he read the article out loud, "Last night, Theo Huxtable threw The Party Of The Year. People came from everywhere to see this party. There were people there that Theo himself didn't even know ..."

Claire came in the room at this point, while Cliff was still reading, "This party was great all the way through. From the dancing, to the food, to the rush out at the end. So, just as this party was surprisingly short, it was also surprisingly good! Can't say much else but, you should've been there."

"What was that all about?" Claire asked.

Cliff looked at her, "Theo threw a party last night." Then he remembered what Theo had asked him before. "Was that the party I said you couldn't have here?"

"Well, it was ... uh ..." Theo mumbled.

"Just answer me," Cliff said.

"That was it," Theo said, looking down at the floor.

"Then ... why - did you throw it?" Cliff asked.

"There was no other place for it," Theo told them, looking up.

"Did you check that out?" Claire asked.

"No," Theo said.

"Then, how did you know?" Cliff asked.

"I'm sorry," Theo said. "I didn't expect the party to get out of hand. I just expected a handful of teenagers. Not a couple rooms full. I didn't mean for it --"

"No!" Cliff exclaimed. "You shouldn't have had the party in the first place. If you hadn't, you wouldn't have had this to worry about, would you?"

"No," Theo said quietly.

"And you knew about this?" Claire asked Vanessa.

"Yes," Vanessa slowly admitted. "Me and Rudy came home in the middle of it."

"You were supposed to be at your friends' house down the street."

"We were, but they sent everybody home. Nobody could hear anything."

"Why not?" Claire asked.

"Well ..."

"It was because of the party," Theo finished for her. "I had the music too loud."

"You could hear the music all the way down the street?" Cliff asked.

Vanessa nodded. "Okay, you can go to your room."

Vanessa quickly went upstairs.

"Dad, I promise, I won't --"

"You won't be going out for another two months," Cliff said. "That should give you enough time to think about 'listening to your parents'."

"Yes, Theo. Two months. Now go up to your room," Claire said.

"Okay," Theo said.

"And Theo," Cliff said. "Not only will you not go out of the house. But you won't be using the phone, either."

"What if somebody calls me?" Theo asked.

"Then we'll tell them you're grounded. But you won't be using the phone," Claire said.

"Okay," Theo grumbled, he really didn't want to make his parents more angry.

That night, when Cliff and Claire were crawling into bed, she asked him, "Do you think this'll teach him not to do things like that anymore?"

"Claire," he said. "He's 16. Do you remember being 16?"

"Yeah," Claire said. "So far, he's being just like you."

"Just me?" Cliff asked.

"Well..." Claire started.

"It'll take a lot more than this to make him learn, but at least - for him - the teen years are almost over. He'll mature. I just hope it happens before we die!"

"And you have to admit," Claire said. "This is the first **bad** thing that he's done. Some kids start doing things like this earlier."

"Yeah," Cliff said. "Look at Vanessa. She had agreed to keep this secret from us, and she's only 12. We might have a problem with her. Just like with Denise."

"Cliff, we're still having problems with Denise. Sondra wasn't too bad. How do you think it'll be with Rudy?"

"Too early to tell, Dear. But having 3 older sisters, and one older brother, maybe she'll learn from 'experience stories'."

"Too bad it doesn't work that way," Claire said.

"Yeah," Cliff muttered.

THE END

~~~~~

That's it! Would you let me know what you thought ... I'd really appreciate it!!

Thanks!!


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